kelso



(No Model.) i y 3 sheetssheen 1. W. KELSO.

GAR coUPLING.

No. 546,779. Patented sept. 24, 1895.

WITNESSES: v INVENTQR,

(NQ Model.) Y y 3 sheets-sheen 2.' W. KELSO.

GAR COUPLING.v No. 546,779. Patented Sept. 24, 1895.

' FIC-3.13!

10 JMJ 7 r WITNESSES: INVENTOR,

(No Model.) 3 Sheefs-Sheet 3. W. KELSO. GAR GOUPLING. N0. 546,779. Patll'ed Sept. 24, 1895.

F|E. 5. I FIELE WITNESSES: INVENTOR,

' wmwmw fs/W f @mgl-M- rin WILLIAM KEL-SO, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCOONWAY dt TORLEY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 546,779,dated September 24, 1895. Application tiled April 23, 1895. Serial No. 546,814. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM KnLso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in thercounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Oar- Oouplers, of which improvements the following is a specification.

The invention described herein relates to certain improvements in car-couplers of the Janney or swinging-hook type, and has for its object the addition to the locking-pin of means for holding the locking-pin in unlocking position, such means being adapted to be operated to release the locking-pin, so that it will drop to operative position by Athe tail of the swinging hook when the latter is shifted to open or closed position, and being inoperative when the locking-pin is raised by the tail of the knuckle or swinging hook.

The invention is hereinafter more fully described and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a coupler having my improvement applied thereto and showing the locking-pin down or in locking position. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the locking-pin supported in unlocking position. Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views illustrating a modification of my improvement. Figs. 5 and 6 are front and rear elevations of the locking-pin having the supporting-catch applied thereto.

In the practice of my invention the coupler-head l, knuckleI or swinging hook 2, and locking-pin 3, as regards their external shape or contour, are constructed in the usual manner. It is frequently desirable, especially in switching or yard-drilling, to unlock the coup- 1ers of one or more cars, so as to permit of the separation of adjacent cars at some future time. This operation can only be eiected by supporting the locking-pin in its raised or unlocking position. And it is also equally desirable that on the separation of adjacent cars the locking-pin be so set as to automatically lock the knuckle when two cars are pushed together. In order to eect these functions, acatch et is so pivoted on the locking-pin, preferably in a slot 5 near the lower end of the pin, that when the pin is raised to unlocking position the shoulder a on the catch will drop over and engage the edge of the opening 6 in the lower Wall of the couplerhead, as shown in Fig. 2. The catch is constructed to lie Wholly Within the slot in the pin, and may be caused to move out of the slot into operative position by any suitable means-as,- for example, by anarm 7 on the catch projecting outside of the pin, so as to strike against the face of the coupler-head as it reaches its unlocking position, and thereby throw the catch out', so as to engage the edge of the opening 6. As clearly shown, the sides of the head of the catch which project beyond the pin-when in operative position are oppositely inclined or beveled, so as to permit of the end of the tail of the knuckle passing by into open or closed position and in such movement forcing the catch back into the lockingpin, thereby allowinglthe latter to fall into operative position. In order to prevent the catch from being accidentally dislodged by jarring of the cars and thereby permit the locking-pin to drop from unlocking position, a retaining device is applied to the catch--such, for example, as that shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This retaining device consists in a spring S, arranged in a socket 9, so attached to the catch that when the pin is raised the spring will bear against the coupler-head and tend to force the catch out of the slot into operative position.

In order to prevent the catch from engaging the edge of the opening 6 in the coupler when the locking-pin is raised by the tail of 'the knuckle in being turned to closed or coupling position, a movable stop is applied to the locking-pin in such manner as Will prevent the pin being raised by the tail of the closing knuckle sufficiently far to permit of the catch moving into engagement with the couplerhead. The form of stop shown in the drawings consists of a block 10, arranged in a vertical slot in the pin near its upper -end and provided with a toe 1l, projecting beyond the wall of the pin, so as to strike against the up per wall of the coupler-head when the pin is raised by the knuckle. The upper end ofthe block l0 projects above the end of the lock- IOO ing-pin, alongside of the ear or lug 2 on the upper end of the locking-pin. Through a hole in the block and a vertical slot in the ear 12 is passed the pin of the lifting-clevis 13. This construction permits of a small upward movement of the block without lifting the pin. The block is so constructed that this upward movement will withdraw its toe within the slot in the locking-pin, thereby permitting the latter to be lifted sufliciently far by the clevis to allow the catch to engage the coupler-head.

I am aware that catches which hold locking-pins out of locking position by engagement with the tailpiece of the knuckle are not new, and also that it is old to pivot a catch directly to the draw-head and by an eccentric slot connect it with the locking-pin, so as to uphold the latter under certain conditions. As respects these elements of oper: ation, there are the following, among other, differences: The catch which I employ engages some fixed portion of the draw-head itself, so as to hold the locking-pin in the desired position independently of the position of the tailpiece of the knuckle at that time, and it takes and leaves this position by virtue of the fact that it has a pivotal connection at or near one of its ends directly with the locking-pin, while the other end is left free to swing into and out of engagement with some fixed portion of the draw-head, its position when thus engaged being also in the path of the tailpiece of the knuckle in the normal or regular movement of the latter.

I claim herein as my inventionM l. The combination of acouplerhead,a pivoted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin for locking the hook in a closed position and adapted to be shifted to unlocking position by the action of the knuckle thereon when swung to closed position, and a catch pivoted to the pin at one end, swinging freely at the other end, and adapted to engage some fixed portion of the draw head so as to support the pin in unlocking position, when the pin is raised by means other than the knuckle in its closing movement, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a coupler head, a pivoted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin for locking the hook in a closed position and a catch pivoted to the pin for supporting the latter in its raised or unlocking position by engagement with a portion of the coupler, and adapted to be shifted from such engagement by the knuckle in its opening movement, and thereby permit the locking pin to move to normal or locking position, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a coupler head, a pivoted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin for locking the hook in a closed position, a catch for supporting the pin in its unlocking position, a stop for preventing such a movement of the pin by the knuckle as will permit of the operation of the catch, substantially as set forth.

it. The combination of a coupler head, apivoted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin for locking the hook in a closed position, means for lifting the pin from locking position, a catch for supporting the pin in its unlocking position, a stop for preventing such a movement of the pin by the knuckle as will permit of the operation of the catch, but adapted to be shifted out of operative position by the pin lifting mechanism, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a coupler head, a pivoted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin for locking the hook in a closed position, a catch pivoted to the pin for supporting the latter in its raised or unlocking position, and provided with an arm adapted by engagement with a portion of the coupler to shift the catch into engagement with some fixed portion of the draw head, and into the path of movement of the tail piece of the knuckle, substantially as set forth.

G. The combination of a coupler head, a piv oted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin for locking the hook in a closed position, a catch piv oted to the pin for supporting the latter' in unlocking position, and a spring carried by the catch for shifting and holding the latter in operative position, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of a coupler head, a pv oted knuckle or swinging hook, a pin forlocking the hook in a closed position, a catch for supporting-the pin in unlocking position, a movable block arranged in a slot in the pin and provided with a toe normally projecting beyond the wall of the pin for limiting the upward movement of the latter, and means for lifting the pin into unlocking position, so connected to the block as to shift the latter sufficiently to withdraw the toe and permit a fullv IOO 

